making it fun: Great Pattern Hack Winner, Jessica Bustos!!

Brief intro to who you are / what you do:

My name is Jessica Bustos and I am a pattern and garment designer for Lil Luxe Collection based out of Chicago, IL

What’s your favorite piece of work that you have created?

My favorite piece has to be Over the Top dress I made for Pattern Revolution. My daughter felt so special in it. I also love the Guggenheim inspired dress I made in college which really boosted my love for fashion and architecture.


*Over the Top Dress

*Guggenheim Dress

What are you working on at the moment?

I’m currently working on a lot!! I have a new blog series called Sew ’n Style where you’re tasked to create a minimum three piece collection using at least half Lil Luxe Collection patterns. The collection must have a clear and cohesive theme. I’m also working on my next wave of fall patterns which will debut after the series in October. Lastly I’m participating in Top Stitchers this season.

What are your goals for the future, both work wise and life?

I feel like I have never ending goals! My mom has always said I’ve had a 5 year plan since I was 5 years old…funny enough my oldest daughter Olivia is just like me. This year when I asked her how she felt to be 5 years old she replied “Good, next I’m going to turn 6” as if she’d already concurred 5 and was ready for the next big thing :) She went about her day being as independent as ever! She truly makes me so proud. So what’s next for me?! Well, I’d like to complete my catalog of girls patterns within the next 3-6 months, then I think I’d like to take a stab at women’s patterns…eek, I said it! Now I have to live up to it! I’d also like to start building on my website and blog with more tutorials, Lil Luxe pattern hacks and sponsorships with fabric companies or other. I love me a competition so I’ll keep doing them as well to keep my creative juices flowing.

*winning look for the Great Pattern Hack! (Featuring North Star)

As far as in life - My husband and I are both fortunate enough to work from home so we’re thinking of living abroad before settling down into a home. We’ve both always dreamed of traveling and we may never have the opportunity to literally “give our girls the world” so we want to try to take advantage of it. There are a lot of job related technicalities to get over on my husband’s side but we’re hopeful that it will work out and if not, then we’ll be house hunting next year :) But I really hope to share the view with my husband and our girls from the top of the Eiffel tower, learn about Roman history at the Colosseum and dance with the Spanish in Spain. I know some of our family will have issues with us leaving and not providing a “stable” environment for our girls but we want to share this with them and we believe that they will live a more cultured life having lived abroad. We’re very close with our two daughters and we think that having a loving mother and father who want to share their love and the world with them is a strong enough statement to provide them with stability.

What are you doing when you’re not creating?

Apart from my design work, I’m a mom extraordinaire. Doing the everyday things most moms do…cooking, cleaning, laundry, after school home school sessions, chauffeuring from dance lessons to play dates, etc. But apart from that I enjoy crocheting. I hope to learn to knit this winter. I also enjoy reading…I’m a serial reader…once I start a book, I can’t put it down and spend countless nights reading until I’ve finished the book! I also play the violin. I’m a bit rusty but I’m practicing again so that I can show my girls how to play when they’re ready.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?

Hmm, I’m not sure if it’s surprising anymore… but people always tend to be surprised that I didn’t go to school to be a pattern designer. I actually went to school to be a Architect. I had a year and a half left in my Masters program when we decided it was best for me to stay at home with our first daughter. It was quite a shock to my system to stop and put my career aside but being a mother/wife was a bigger dream and whole lot harder! It was the right decision and I feel beyond blessed to be on the path that I am on. I’ve always sewn, but never professionally. Everything I know about sewing is self taught or read/seen on the internet or passed down from my relatives.

Do you have any favorite blogs you read?

I don’t really have any favorite blogs. I follow a bunch on bloglovin and if I see something I’m interested in I’ll read it but there’s not a blog that I'm really addicted to.

Where else can we find you?

You can see some of my Interior and Architecture work on my Website, It’s a little out dated but you can see all my recent work on Lil Luxe Collection blog/shop, Instagram, Facebook Group page, Pinterest

Do you have any tips or inspiring words for others?

Never stop believing in yourself….make your own dreams come true…and be fearless enough to go for your dreams. I’ve never failed at anything I put my mind to. I’m a very ambitious person that believes in the power of self and working hard to achieve greater depths.

Do you admire any artists?
I have very eclectic taste. I have everything from classical music to alternative music on my iPod and the same goes for my taste in art. I would say my favorite artist is Caia Koopman. I love the beauty, fantasy and use of color in her work and my favorite architects are Santiago Calatrava and Frank Lloyd Wright. Even when I design my fashion collections I always turn to Architecture and my environment for inspiration.

What is your favorite…
Color: Black
Animal: Dolphin
Season: Fall
Movie: The Princess Bride... yes, I'm a hopeless romantic
Book: No favorite books I enjoy reading about anything and everything

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Thanks very much to Jessica for participating in the Great Pattern Hack and for sharing about yourself!

Congratulations and we hope that you continue to create and take on new challenges in the future!